Why the 'bad' guy and not the 'nice' guy?

Why the bad guy and not the nice guy? Observing Korean dramas (By using you’re beautiful as an example).

It is not a new concept that the main guy is technically the ‘not-so-nice’ guy and the second lead is the ‘nice guy’. Then you have girls arguing why the girl never goes to the nice guy. The answer is pretty obvious: the nice guy is there for comfort. Why comfort? That’s another obvious answer…to mellow down the evilness and the dramatic effects Korean dramas love to dwell on. It would suck if the viewers have to watch some evil ass girl tearing down the main girl and stealing the main guy continuously. Having a nice guy who helps out the main girl whenever she needs the help, balances out the evilness and the good.

So, I would like to take this idea from the current Korean drama, “You’re Beautiful/Handsome”. You have Hwang Tae Kyung: the arrogant conceited self proclaimed ‘bad guy’ with Kang Shin Woo who is the self restricting, nice, and delicate guy that brings comfort to the main girl. First glance, Shin Woo’s character seems like the prince charming: handsome, tall, dazzling, comes when needed, always there for the girl, and gives unconditional support/love without asking anything in return.

Dreamy and perfect? Yes. Boring? Yes as well.

Even though no matter how much a person wants to view a drama in a fantasy way, they bring in their own realistic expectations while watching. So, they swoon over a character like Kang Shin Woo but they eventually realize he is sadly to say, ‘boring’. A guy who loves the girl unconditionally from the start is lovely but when it comes to asking for a drama, it does not turn out so fun.

The simple reason is: We love the prince charming. But what we really want is a dramatic, sweep my feet off the floor romance. The unconditional love does not bring the dramatic effect in what people truly want. People in general are waiting for adventures, seeking a mysterious world feel with their own desires and wishes, and making them come true.

That’s why guys like Hwang Tae Kyung, wins people’s hearts in the end. He is an arrogant, over perfectionist, OCD, not nice to others, and tries so hard to act tough. Yes in the beginning, even I had issues with his character. His perfectionist and rude attitude were something unattractive and something undesirable and I definitely liked Mr. nice guy Shin Woo better. But later on in the story, the writers make ways to show, he is not only a guy with undesirable flaws. He’s a ‘nice’ guy as well as the ‘arrogant’ guy who does not overtly display his emotions.

If a guy can have the nice qualities deep within without being overly ‘too’ nice, it becomes attractive.

Tae Kyung’s character especially was well developed, considering he tried to act like a ‘bad’ guy but failed miserably. And he eventually starts changing due to the main girl but that’s the usual Korean drama formula.

So then the nice guy in the story just becomes the rival, the supporter, and may end up with the evil girl in the end.

But there is always a flaw in the ‘bad’ guy vs. ‘nice’ guy argument. Girls believe that by seeing these dramas, ‘bad’ guys can change with their help…which is not true at all. Personally, as much as I enjoy ‘bad’ guys in dramas, I know their attitude and arrogance would not change by my own strength. They personally have to have the desire to change. And that would not happen unless they fall into their own pit hole realizing, this is not how they should act and lead their lives.

And for the ‘nice’ guy part, ‘nice’ usually means they’ll be nice to anyone and they are willing to keep their emotions in and be trampled over by people. Is that true niceness? Not at all.

Nice is not about being submissive, serving the girl continuously, not saying ones opinion, and act like they have no flaws within themselves. True niceness is about being about to be out there, standing up for one’s own personal belief, and being considerate and respectful. And niceness is not something to be used for everyone. Thinking being nice to everyone would consider you truly nice, not true at all. A person who’s nice would truly be nice to only the people they trust and love deeply.

So in the end, I chose a bad guy for dramas like Hwang Tae Kyung. But if it’s real life, it would definitely be someone who is like Kang Shin Woo but with a little bit more personal strength and less niceness.

Which would never really happen.